Dec 27 David Sedaris and Collage

"David was a visual artist before he became a writer. He denies it now, but he was obviously skilled at drawing and making things, and he naturally combined the two in his journals. He also often paired words and letterforms with imagery, and this became a consistent pattern in his diaries. In hindsight, it's notable that many of his interests, from drawing, painting, and writing to photography, printmaking, and bookbinding, all end up in the service of creating books--published or otherwise."

Sedaris's talent for finding and capturing the quirky details of daily life and overheard conversations extends to ephemera. The book contains page after page of found objects, layered together in startling juxtapositions. Its die cuts -- a skeleton's arm, a child's name tag, a bright red letter "R," add a touch of whimsy.